Seljavallalaug swimming pool

I know it can be windy in Iceland, but on this particular day in March, 140 km/hr winds came racing down the mountain flanks into the valleys below Iceland's infamous Eyjafjallajokull glacier. And we had the great idea to go for a swim in Iceland's oldest pool, Seljavallalaug swimming pool.
Having parked the car at the unsurfaced car park, we were barely able to open the doors of the car due to the howling wind.
Heading deeper into the valley following the riverbed, we started to think it might be smarter to turn back to the car, this as the wind was making walking barely possible.

But the thought of being able to swim in a geothermal heated pool in the middle of the mountains had been for a long time on my bucket list, so we carried on with our walk, or should I say snail-paced struggle against the strong headwind. Following the riverbed, we admired the amazing rock formations on the left of the river, basalt rocks in all different shapes draped in moss.

Turning around the corner deeper into the valley, the wind picked up even further, forcing us at some stages to crouch into a small ball in order to avoid being blown over.
Between the gusts, we carried on with our struggle until we reached the pool after a 30 minutes hike.
The 25 meter pool is at a comfortable temperature thanks to it's geothermal heating, the small dressing rooms are very basic but practical.
On 1 side of the pool, a rock functions as 1 of the pool walls, the other 3 are made out of concrete. The pool is free to use, but a donation box is there to support the volunteers who maintain the swimming pool. The water comes from a hot spring nearby.

A quick change and I finally managed to tick another item of my bucketlist, a refreshing swim in the geothermal heated pool was brilliant fun.
But we also think about safety, and with the wind picking up even stronger, we decided to head back after a quick swim in this fabulous pool. At this stage, the wind had become so strong that it was pushing us back towards the car in record time.